The Emotional Range of a Teaspoon
by Saeas
Summary: Based on and using actual dialogue from OotP, Hermione's take on a conversation about Harry and Cho, and her thoughts about Ron. Please RR :-)


The Emotional Range of a Teaspoon  
  
This is based on the conversation that takes place between Harry, Ron and Hermione in chapter twenty-one of 'The Order of the Phoenix'. The dialogue is entirely the work of J K Rowling, and is quoted directly from pages 404 to 407 of the British edition of the book. I do not wish to take any credit for her work. This is a re-telling of the conversation from Hermione's point of view, so the interaction between the trio will be the same as it is in the book, just told in a different way, and obviously extended and altered slightly to accommodate Hermione's thoughts. Basically, the plot belongs to J K Rowling (aside from the part after they have gone upstairs), but Hermione's take on the situation is mine. Thank you for reading this, I hope it wasn't too boring!  
  
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'What kept you?' Ron's voice cut into my thoughts, making me jump. Harry was back, and sat down in the chair next to me. I hadn't even noticed the portrait open; I was too engrossed in my letter. Ok, I was also slightly preoccupied with trying to hide it from Ron. He can lie there attempting his transfiguration homework, but I know as well as he does he'll use anything as an excuse for a distraction.  
  
Looking up at Harry, I noticed he looked quite pale. He was staring into the fire and seemed to be thinking about something quite seriously. 'Are you all right, Harry?' I ventured. Well, I had to ask; after all he had been gone at least half an hour since the meeting. He's not answering, just shrugging his shoulders. Hang on; Cho was still in the room of requirement when Ron and I left...  
  
'What's up? What's happened?' I smiled to myself as Ron realised something was on Harry's mind. He is quite oblivious sometimes. It's quite sweet really. I glanced over at him; he was propped up on his elbow facing Harry. The roaring flames made his hair seem even more fiery, with golden highlights among the auburn... I mentally shook myself. Going all mushy over Ron right in front of him is NOT a good idea. Focusing my attention on Harry is definitely a better one.  
  
'Is it Cho?' I asked, trying to control my voice but ending up sounding like a business woman addressing a client. 'Did she corner you after the meeting?' Well, it was blunt, but how else was I going to get him to answer? He's been skirting around the issue for years! It seems my new tactic worked as Harry nodded slowly. Full marks once again, Hermione, not only do I detect a budding relationship but I also manage to get Harry to confess! Suddenly Ron started sniggering. Honestly, boys can be so immature sometimes. I span round to hint at him to shut up. Fortunately he got the message.  
  
'So- er- what did she want?' He can try to act casual, but the slight reddening of his ears is a definite give away that he is embarrassed about the whole thing. I don't suppose he and Harry talk about girls much. Unless he feels uncomfortable because I just glared at him for laughing... maybe that wasn't such a good idea? Anyway, no more thoughts about Ron. There are major developments in Harry's love life going on here.  
  
'She-' Harry clears his throat, blushing. What is it that makes boys so embarrassed to talk about their feelings? 'She- er-' Well, it was clear he wasn't going to tell us anytime this century. I suppose it's down to the girl to sort everything out, as usual.  
  
'Did you kiss?' Well, I certainly captured Ron's attention if not Harry's. That's if sitting up so fast you knock your ink bottle all over the rug can be taken as a sign of attentiveness.  
  
'Well' he demanded, clearly over his embarrassment. Harry looked at us both before nodding.  
  
'HA!' Ron burst into a deafening peal of laughter and started rolling around on the rug. Sometimes I wonder how he can be so insensitive. If I was ever to kiss someone I really liked I would like to think that his- I mean, his FRIEND'S- reaction would be slightly more dignified. I turn back to my letter and continue telling Viktor about the O.W.Ls. Ron and Harry start discussing The Kiss.  
  
'Well? How was it?' Typical male. At least he's stopped laughing now.  
  
'Wet,' Oh, very romantic Harry. Ron made an indistinguishable noise that appeared to be a cross between jubilation and disgust.  
  
'Because she was crying' continued Harry. Oh dear, I thought something like this would happen. Poor Cho. And Harry, come to that.  
  
'Oh, are you that bad at kissing?' Well done Ron, tactful all the way.  
  
'Dunno,' Harry seemed quite worried now, 'Maybe I am.' Honestly, you'd think that between them they'd have some sort of clue!  
  
'Of course you're not,' I said, still writing on my parchment.  
  
'How do you know?' Ron said quite sharply. Is he jealous? Does he think that Harry and I... no, don't be stupid Hermione. I stayed focused on my letter, not wanting to look up in case I blushed. 'Because Cho spends half her time crying these days.' How can they not have noticed? Too much testosterone preventing them from detecting emotion, no doubt. 'She does it at mealtimes, in the loos, all over the place.'  
  
Ron broke out into a grin. 'You'd think a bit of kissing would cheer her up.' Does he not understand how much Cho has been through in the past year? He makes me so cross sometimes! 'Ron,' I said to him, 'you are the most insensitive wart I have ever had the misfortune to meet.'  
  
'What's that supposed to mean?' he shot back. It may have been harsh but it was true! 'What sort of person cries while someone's kissing them?'  
  
'Yeah,' Harry sounded desperate. 'Who does?'  
  
They really didn't get it. I almost felt sorry for them. Well, for Harry maybe, he was bound to be feeling confused. But Ron was just being stupid.  
  
'Don't you understand how Cho's feeling at the moment?' I asked.  
  
'No,' they replied in unison. I sighed; I was going to have to explain to them. You'd think that at fifteen they'd have some idea of what goes on in life. I put my quill down and took a deep breath.  
  
'Well, obviously, she's feeling very sad, because of Cedric dying. Then I expect she's feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can't work out who she likes best. Then she'll be feeling guilty, thinking it's an insult to Cedric's memory to be kissing at all, and she'll be worrying about what everyone else might say about her if she starts going out with Harry. And she probably can't work out what her feelings towards Harry are, anyway, because he was the one who was with Cedric when Cedric died, so that's all very mixed up and painful. Oh, and she's afraid she's going to be thrown off the Ravenclaw Quidditch team because she's been flying so badly.'  
  
Harry and Ron digested this, slightly stunned. Then Ron said, 'One person can't feel all that at once, they'd explode.'  
  
That was the final straw. Ron just can't understand anything to do with feelings. How can he not understand the sensitivity of the situation that Cho is in? I turned to face him. 'Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have.' I picked up my quill again, but couldn't think of anything to write. He makes me so angry at times, so confused. He can be so nice and caring one moment, and then he goes and ruins it by making a stupid comment like that. Sometimes I wonder why I like him.  
  
'She was the one who started it,' said Harry. 'I wouldn't've- she just sort of came at me- and next thing she's crying all over me- I didn't know what to do- ' 'Don't blame you, mate' Ron replied. I hope Harry didn't ruin everything, I mean he really likes her, and Cho's got enough on her plate already without feeling rejected by Harry.  
  
'You just had to be nice to her,' I told him. 'You were, weren't you?' 'Well,' he began, blushing again, 'I sort of- patted her on the back a bit.' Oh dear. Wonderful, Harry, just wonderful. 'Well, I suppose it could have been worse,' I ventured. If he'd started crying too, maybe. 'Are you going to see her again?' 'I'll have to, won't I?' He replied. 'We've got DA meetings haven't we?' Either he's very confused by this situation, or he's just being plain stupid! 'You know what I mean,' I replied, slightly impatiently. From the look on Harry's face it became clear that he didn't. Or at least hadn't, for it appeared that I had just opened a whole new can of worms for him. How could he have not realised that now was the perfect time to ask her out? And I'm still making no progress with this letter! I'm going to have to carry on writing if I'm going to owl it in the morning.  
  
'Oh well,' I said, mid-sentence, 'you'll have plenty of opportunities to ask her.'  
  
'What if he doesn't want to ask her?' said Ron. He'd been watching Harry and had no doubt noticed his worried expression and taken it to mean he didn't want to ask her. 'Don't be silly,' I replied, still writing, 'Harry's liked her for ages, haven't you Harry?' can't he see that Harry's just nervous? There we go, finished writing about my O.W.Ls, I'll tell Viktor about the Quidditch match against Slytherin and how Ron made the team. It was such a shame he let the Slytherins get to him; I'm sure he could be really good if he just had more confidence. I could kill Draco Malfoy for that song...  
  
'Who're you writing that novel to, anyway?' Oh no, I really didn't want Ron to ask that. He gets so angry whenever Viktor comes up in conversation, I can't think why. Then it occurred to me that he could read the parchment that was hanging off to table. What if he saw the bits I'd written about him? I snatched it out of sight quickly. It's one thing him knowing I'm writing to Viktor, but if he knew that he was a topic of conversation... I took a breath and told him, 'Viktor.' There was no point beating round the bush. If Ron's going to get angry that's his problem. Not that it's any of his business who I write to.  
  
'Krum?' He sounded disgusted. Why does he always have to be like this? Well, I'm not going to let him know he gets to me. Keeping my voice as cool as possible, I replied; 'How many other Viktors do we know?' It seemed to work, although he looked a bit put out. He's just so overprotective sometimes. It can be endearing really... some of the time. But not tonight.  
  
We sat in silence for about twenty minutes. I filled the last six inches of my letter, trying to ignore Ron's impatient snorts and scratching of his quill when he crossed out his mistakes. At least he wasn't asking for my help. I wouldn't mind helping him normally, of course. He does try, and Harry too, but they just don't have the research technique. It's just when they ask me at the last minute, expecting me to save their necks even though they've done no work, that I get annoyed. You'd think that was all I was there for, a walking, talking textbook. Although I have to admit it's always satisfying when Ron thanks me, to know that I've been able to help him.  
  
Suddenly I realised how tired I was. Once again, the fire had reduced to ash and we were the last people in the common room. I rolled up Viktor's letter and sealed it. It was a close enough shave with Ron almost reading it before; I wasn't going to take any chances. I stood up to leave, yawning at the same time. I don't think I'll leave any hats out for the elves tonight; I'd rather just collapse onto my bed as soon as I reach the dormitory. 'Well, night,' I told Harry and Ron as I turned towards the staircase. I heard them stand up, too and head towards their stairs. I was on the third step up when I heard Ron's voice carrying across the empty common room:  
  
'What does she see in Krum?' I froze. Had I heard that correctly? I tiptoed back into the common room and ran quietly across to the boys' staircase. I could hear Harry telling him 'Well, I s'pose he's older, isn't he... and he's an international Quidditch player...' their voices grew quieter as they climbed higher. I heard Ron reply, but I couldn't make out the words. He didn't sound happy, though. Slowly, I walked back to the girls' staircase and began to climb. Was Ron... could he be... jealous of Viktor? He was always a bit annoyed that I spent so much time with him last year, and he was quite fixated with the idea that I was dating Viktor... I had reached my dormitory and paused outside the door considering this. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Don't be silly; of course he's not jealous. He just doesn't like Viktor, that's all. So why do I wish he WAS jealous? I opened the door carefully so as not to wake Parvati and Lavender, crossed the room and began to change into my nightclothes, feeling, if it was possible, as confused as Cho must have been a few hours earlier. 


End file.
